 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Administrator" Australia – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
In Australia, the titleAdministrator, or more fullyAdministrator of the Government, has several uses. In each case, the Administrator fulfills constitutional and ceremonial roles in theAustralian political system, on a caretaker basis.
While they have independent agency, administrators are generally bound byconvention to act on the advice of thefirst minister and theExecutive Council.[1]
Section four of theAustralian Constitution provides that:
The provisions of this Constitution relating to the Governor-General extend and apply to the Governor-General for the time being, or such person as the Queen may appoint to administer the Government of the Commonwealth; but no such person shall be entitled to receive any salary from the Commonwealth in respect of any other office during his administration of the Government of the Commonwealth.[2]
| Administrator of the Commonwealth of Australia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Viceregal | |
| Style | Their Excellency |
| Appointer | Monarch of Australia on theadvice of thePrime Minister |
| Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure |
Accordingly, an Administrator assumes the administration of the government when theGovernor-General dies, resigns or is absent from Australia.[3] The administrator is styled either Administrator of the Commonwealth or, less commonly, Administrator of the Government of the Commonwealth. Byconvention, each of thestate governors holds adormant commission from the sovereign (currentlyCharles III) to act as administrator and the commission is taken up by the longest-serving governor who is in Australia, able, and willing to act.[4] In the event that an Administrator died in office, was required to leave the country, or was otherwise unable to discharge their office, the next-longest serving state governor would become Administrator.
There have been four separate occasions during which a governor of one of the states has administered the government of the Commonwealth for an extended period due to unforeseen circumstances:
On 11 May 2003, theletters patent commissioning the Governor-General were amended to enablePeter Hollingworth to stand aside as Governor-General following a controversy about his past handling of child abuse allegations,[5] andTasmanian GovernorSir Guy Green was appointed Administrator[6] until Hollingworth's permanent replacement (Major GeneralMichael Jeffery) took office on 8 August 2003.[7]
The present longest serving state governor isMargaret Beazley who has beenGovernor of New South Wales since 2 May 2019.
Former Governor-GeneralSir Peter Cosgrove was specially commissioned[8] to act as Administrator of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia in May 2023, when Governor-GeneralDavid Hurley[9] and all state Governors were simultaneously absent from the Commonwealth to attend theCoronation of Charles III and Camilla.[10] When the Governor-General attended thestate funeral of Elizabeth II the previous year,Governor of VictoriaLinda Dessau acted as Administrator.[11]
An Administrator is styledTheir Excellency while in office.[12]
In theAustralian states, when the governor dies, resigns or is absent, the lieutenant-governor (appointed by the governor on the advice of the state premier) performs the official duties of the governor as administrator until a new governor is appointed. In the absence of both a governor and lieutenant-governor, the chief of the state's supreme court or the next most seniorpuisne judge, traditionally holding, ex officio, the position of lieutenant-governor, assumes their position as head of the executive until a governor is appointed.[13] In 2001, theConstitution of Queensland was amended to restore the office oflieutenant-governor in that state.[citation needed]
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(October 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Unlike the Australian states, each of which is a possession of the Crownin its own right and which therefore possesses agovernor directly representing theKing, all Australian territories are possessions of the Crownin right of the Commonwealth of Australia and the soledirect representative of the Crown therefore remains theCommonwealth Governor-General. Unlike the states, the territories fall within the exclusive legislative and administrative competence of theCommonwealth. In respect of several territories the Governor-General is represented in the territory by an Administrator appointed to administer the territory on his or her behalf. In those territories with an Administrator, the Administrator can be considered theindirect representative of the King in the territory.
In theNorthern Territory, which is not a state and does not have a Governor, but which is self-governing with its own legislature and executive, the role of the Crown is filled by anAdministrator of the Northern Territory appointed by the Governor-General-in-Council—that is, theGovernor-General acting on the formaladvice of theFederal Executive Council—on therecommendation of theChief Minister of the Northern Territory, in accordance with the provisions of theNorthern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978 (Cth).[14]
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(October 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
TheAustralian Capital Territory (ACT) does not have an Administrator. As in all other Australian territories, theGovernor-General of the Commonwealth remains thedirect constitutional representative of the monarch in the Territory; however, pursuant to the provisions of theAustralian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 (Cth) there is a TerritoryExecutive consisting of theChief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory and any other Ministers admitted by them to the Executive. The Crown is therefore represented by the Governor-General of Australia in the Government of the ACT. However, reserve powers analogous to those vested in a State Governor are vested by the Act in the FederalMinister for Territories, who may, for example, dissolve the ACT Assembly in cases of corruption or deadlock.
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(October 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
As well as the internal and largely self-governing territories of the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, Australia also possesses (or lays claim to—since Australia's Antarctic claims are not universally recognised) seven external territories, each of which falls within the sphere of influence of theCommonwealth and is administered by the Commonwealth Government. Three of these,Norfolk Island (which enjoys a large degree of autonomy), the Territory ofCocos (Keeling) Islands and the Territory ofChristmas Island have permanent populations and also have an Administrator appointed by the Governor-General-in-Council to administer the territory on their behalf. The remaining four external territories, theAustralian Antarctic Territory, theCoral Sea Islands Territory, the Territory ofAshmore Reef and Cartier Island, and the Territory ofHeard and McDonald Islands have no permanent population and do not have an Administrator as such but are administered directly by theCommonwealth Government, currently under the auspices of theDepartment of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (Australian Antarctic Territory) and theDepartment of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (other territories).
In addition to the two self-governing internal territories and Australia's seven external territories, there is also the internal territory ofJervis Bay. Prior toACT Self-Government in 1989, what is now the Jervis Bay Territory constituted part of the Australian Capital Territory. Upon ACT Self-Government it became a separate territory located on the Australian mainland; for the most part it is populated withDefence Force personnel. The territory does not have an Administrator and is administered directly by theCommonwealth Government.
 | This sectionrelies largely or entirely upon asingle source. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page. Please helpimprove this article by introducingcitations to additional sources at this section.(October 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
In Australia,local government areas are the third tier of government in Australia administered by the states and territories, and in cases where the state government has been obliged to dismiss or suspend the operations of local government in an area, an Administrator is appointed to take the place of the elected mayor and councillors. In New South Wales, with 132 local government authorities in 2016, the powers of an Administrator are set out in Chapter 9, Part 2, Division 6 (Appointment of administrator), sections 255–259, of theLocal Government Act 1993. Prominent recent examples of NSW councils being operated by administrators include:Port Macquarie-Hastings Council (2008–2012),City of Wollongong (2008–2012),Tweed Shire (2005–2008),Warringah Council (1965–1967, 1985–1987, 2003–2008),Wingecarribee Shire Council (2021–2024) andCentral Coast Council (2020–2024). TasmanianHuon Valley Council was placed in administration from 2016 until 2018.[15]